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Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos has claimed that former Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola is the perfect coach for his game.
The German spent a year under the current Manchester City manager at Bayern Munich before moving to Madrid in 2014.
Kroos, then 24 years old, won the 2013/14 Bundesliga under Guardiola. But he failed to add a second Champions League medal to his tally, losing to Real Madrid in the semifinals.
Subsequently, he joined Los Blancos in a €25 million move that summer. He has now revealed that Guardiola tried his best to keep him in Munich but the German had other plans.
“Guardiola fought until the last day for me to stay at Bayern. If you have to choose a coach who is perfect for my game, it is Guardiola. I really enjoyed the year with him, he improved me a lot,” Kroos told Universo Valdano (via MARCA).
Kroos has grown into a modern-day great during his time at the Santiago Bernabeu. In eight years with the La Liga giants, he has won four Champions League trophies and three La Liga titles.
While at Bayern Munich, the midfielder won a Champions League and three Bundesliga titles.
Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos picks between winning the World Cup and Champions League
Toni Kroos, who has now retired from international football, won the 2014 FIFA World Cup with Germany, scoring three goals en route to the final. He also has five Champions League titles to his name, with the most recent coming last season with Real Madrid.
When asked about whether he prefers the European club competition or the ultimate prize in football, the German named the latter.
"It’s really difficult to compare, almost impossible. They’re the two most important competitions in football. I've been asked this many times.
"Becoming a world champion is the greatest thing ever, it's every four years and it's getting more and more difficult to win it. If you're lucky you can play in it three or four times and the Champions League every year, but they’ve all been special moments,” he told Real Madrid's official website.
